Witch Hunter
by EastCoastGamer13
Summary: Claire Underwood arrives in Death City in search of clues surrounding the death of her parents. Fighting alongside her new best friend, weapon Melina Steiner, and other allies, she hunts for answers relentlessly, only to be discovered she's being hunted as well...
1. Welcome to Death City

Chapter 1: Welcome to Death City

In the flatlands of Nevada, Claire Underwood sped through the desert on a green ATV. The Native American girl wore a baseball cap to cover her head from the eerie smiling sun and its rays, a long sleeved yellow shirt, and blue shorts. Her white sneakers were dirty from the dust. She wore a small backpack, inside a change of clothes. As she drove, she recalled the last conversation she had with her uncle.

 _"I don't want to go Uncle! Why can't I stay here with you and Auntie?" Claire asked her uncle with sadness. She watched as they packed her backpack with food and drinks and clothing for the long journey ahead. Her uncle put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at his sincere, smiling face. In his eyes she saw sadness, but he did a good job of not showing it._

 _"Oh Claire, you know if we could have it our way you could. But this was your parents' dying wish. When you hit your 15_ _th_ _birthday, we had to send you to Death City."_

 _"But this Death City place isn't even on the map! And why would my parents send me to a place called DEATH City?"_

 _"I'm sorry Claire, but I do not have all the answers. They said all your answers would be found there. All you have to do is find the academy; they call it the DWMA."_

 _Claire's uncle put something in her hands. It was a simple bronze bracelet, with a teal gem in the middle._

 _"It was your mother's. I figured she would want you to have it. Listen Claire, I know just as much about this whole plan as you do. But whatever they had in plan for you, I have the utmost faith in their judgement. And I trust you that you will carry it out. Just…. Just be sure to call every now and then, ok?" Her uncle finished, tears forming in her eyes. While her uncle tried to hold back tears, Claire didn't even bother, and began to bawl. She had never seen her uncle cry, and the stress from so many things happening at once began to get to her as well. For a few long minutes, her and her uncle stood there and cried their weary hearts out. It was her uncle who broke the hug first, and led her to the green ATV, the one she got her birthday._

 _"She tricked out with all the cool gadgets. You should get to Death City in no time."_

 _"Thank you, uncle. For everything." She gave her uncle one last hug, and then hopped on the ATV. She revved it up and left the driveway of their sleepy little home in the middle of Wyoming. She didn't dare look back._

Her reverie was snapped as she approached her final destination: Death City. The cartoonish town was much bigger than she expected. She slowed down to take in the sights. The cobblestone roads were bumpy, but she didn't mind. She was much too busy taking in the new environment. She noticed what appeared to be regular humans passing by, taking care of their own lives. It was a relief that it wasn't a monster town or anything, but her uncle had told her to look for a school. The DWMA he called it. So where was it?

Suddenly, her stomach growled. Claire parked her ATV in a nearby alleyway and found a small diner. It seemed pretty normal on the inside, a few tables and booths set up for costumers. She decided to sit at the counter, and ordered a turkey and cheese sandwich with the works. As she ate, she thought of her next course of action. She had to find this DWMA place quick.

As Claire bit into her sandwich, she sensed another presence. She swiveled around in her seat to her left and spotted another girl eying her. She looked to be about her age, with tanned skin and short red hair. She wore a dark red hoodie and jeans. Her fierce blue eyes seemed to the complete contrast of Claire's own soft hazel eyes. The girl got up and sat next to Claire, never removing her gaze.

"Can I help you?" Claire asked, starting to get uneasy.

The question seemed to snap the girl out of whatever she was thinking, "My bad. It's just that I've never seen you around here before. Plus you seem kind of lost. Are you from out of town?"

"Yeah. Just outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I'm looking for a school here."

"Oh you mean the DWMA? Are you applying?" The girl replied, now excited.

"Well, I guess. My parents just said to come here and look for the school, so I assume they want me to apply."

"Awesome! A new student. The school's closed for today, but I'll take you to Lord Death first thing tomorrow if you want me to."

"Lord Death?"

"Yup. The head honcho around here. He created this city and the Death Weapon Meister Academy."

"The what now?"  
"Wow, you really are from out of town. Listen, it's getting late. How's about you crash at my place tonight, and tomorrow we get things straightened out. You got here on a ride, I presume?"

"Yeah, my ATV's parked outside."

"Awesome. I'll explain as much as I can on the way back to my house. Follow me."

Seeing as how she really didn't have many other options, she followed the girl out of the restaurant and boarded onto her ATV. A few minutes later, the pair ended up in front of the girl's apartment. She led Claire inside. It was cozy, with purple walls and a burnt orange colored wood floor. The girl said Clair could sit on the couch for now, and she did. The exhaustion from riding all day crashed onto her as she laid down on the soft couch. The girl reappeared, now dressed in a pair of sweatpants and slippers. She still had on her hoodie. In her hands were a pair of pajamas and two cups of hot chocolate. She gave the pajamas and the cup to Claire. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the quiet and the rich taste of the hot chocolate.

Finally, Claire spoke up, "Thank you. I truly appreciate the hospitality, Ms…"

The girl chuckled. "The name's Melina. Melina Steiner. And yourself?"

"Claire. Claire Underwood."

"Claire. Pretty name. I like it. So Claire, what brings you to Death City? Obviously not the sights."

"Well, my uncle told me that I should come here when I turned 15. He said my parents wanted me to come here. It was their dying wish. The only problem is that I don't know what I'm looking for here."

"Sounds to me like your parents were alums of the school."

"Really? They never talked about a place like this."

"I don't want to push too, but when did your parents die?"

"When I was around 10."

"And they didn't tell you anything about the DWMA? Interesting… Well the past is the past, am I right? You're here now, and tomorrow you'll be a student! Just stick with me, missy. You're going to love this place. The first order of business is simple: Are you a weapon or a meister?"

The look Claire gave her let Melina know that she had no idea what she was talking about.

"Perhaps I should Ol' Death take that one tomorrow." Melina yawned. "Well I'm hittin' the hay. You can sleep out here or I have an extra room if you want to take that one for now. See ya in the morning." And with that, Melina hopped up and scooted onto her room, turning the light off behind her. She left Claire in the dark living room with just her thoughts and the furniture. She still didn't know what to think of the girl. What she felt towards the girl wasn't love, or even a liking just yet. But she knew she needed this girl to help her, and she shouldn't let Melina's kindness slip past her. She had a feeling she was going to be here for a while, so the more allies she made, the better. She turned to her side, and closed her eyes, drifting into a well-deserved deep sleep.

In the distance, a lone wolf peered through the window, staring right at the sleeping Claire. It began to growl, sensing that it had found its prey.

"So, she actually made it. Shouldn't be surprised; an Underwood never knows when to give up…" A tall woman appeared beside the red-eyed wolf. She was incredibly tall, yet still slender with prominent feminine features. Her body was covered in a coat made of wolf fur, the head of the wolf covering her head like a hood. She was naked under the coat aside from the wolf skin garments covering her chest and crotch. She had long, jet black hair, and red eyes like the wolf. She knelt down and caressed the wolf's back, calming it down.

"There, there, my sweet. We will hunt soon. But you must be patient. What good is prey if it does not provide a good struggle? Our little deer here is just out the womb, barely knows her way. We will wait and watch her grow, become stronger. And when the time is right, the hunt will then begin. And it will be splendid." She rose again and began to walk away. The wolf shot one last look at the sleeping Claire, and proceeded to follow.

 _A/n: Hey guys! So after a long time away from fanfiction to get my life together, I'm coming through with this experimental project. I've been watching a lot of anime lately, so I have a few new ideas for stories in mind. Also, let me know which anime you guys like to watch! Leave your recommendations in the reviews! So far this summer I've watched Deadman Wonderland, Gurren Laggan, Kill La Kill, Fairy Tail, Soul Eater, Death Note, and Psychopass!_


	2. A Casual Conversation with Death

Chapter 2: A Casual Conversation with Death

"Hiya, heya, and howdy do, Mandy. I don't see you in here often!" Lord Death exclaimed. It was the following day, and just like Melina promised she brought Claire to see Lord Death, the head master of the DWMA. Claire openly admitted that she had a different idea in mind of what the conversation was going to be, parts of it including hellfire and evil laughs. Instead, Death's room was rather pleasant, with bright sky blue walls and cloud puffs slowly moving across the floor. Even Death himself wasn't that scary. His entire body was covered in a black robe except for his two comically huge white hands, and his face was covered with a skull mask.

"I'm doing just great, Lord Death. And it's Melina, by the way…" Melina replied, bowing to the head master. "I would like to introduce Claire Underwood. She would like to enroll here at the DWMA."

"Splendid! Are you a weapon or a meister?"

Claire kept shut again, still not knowing the answer to this question. Lord Death turned to Melina.

"Ohhh Minnie. Have you not explained the concepts of weapons and meisters to our new student yet? For shame." He playfully scolded, pointing a giant finger at Melina.

"Melina. And it's harder than it seems I guess. Besides it's better coming from the mouth of the founder himself, am I right?"

"Hmm, very well. I suppose I will start from the top. Years ago, the DWMA was founded to teach young students how to fight off the demons and evil spirits that haunt lands all over the world. The student body is divided into two groups: First you have weapons, humans that can transform into living various weapons. Melina here, for example, is a weapon. The other half are meisters. These are the students who wield the before mentioned weapons. By partnering up like this, the weapon-meister combinations travel the world defeating demons. Their final goals may be different, but most usually reach for the goal of becoming a Death Scythe, a personal weapon for yours truly. In order to do this, the weapon must consume 99 evil souls, and one witch soul. Is all of this making sense to you so far?"

Claire nodded.

"Good, now I will ask you a simple question: Have you ever noticed spikes or chains or claws coming out of you at any point in your life."

Claire actually took a few seconds to think about it, "No sir, I can't say I have."

"Congratulations! You are a meister. Yaay!" Death cheered, confetti flying. Melina also cheered rather loudly.

"Yes! This is awesome! That means we can be partners!" Melina exclaimed, hugging Claire tightly. Claire still had very little clue as to what was going on.

"Slow down Max. It's clear that most of this is still sinking in for Ms. Underwood. Do you mind waiting outside? I would like to speak to her one on one."

"Of course, Lord Death." Melina bowed once more, and then skipped out of the Death Room, leaving a lost Claire and the god of death in the same room alone.

"So you're Claire, yes? Daughter of Maria and Kevin Underwood?"

"Yes. You knew them?" Claire asked.

"They were students here actually. Both of them were meisters, and pretty good ones at that. I was saddened by their passing." Claire noticed a shift in Death's tone, from cheerful and carefree to brooding and somber. Claire began to suspect that her parents meant more to this school than she first expected.

"Um, Lord Death, sir, would you happen to know how my parents died? My family always says it was a car crash, but I have the feeling that that's not the case."

Lord Death sighed, "I actually have no clue either. All we know is that their car was found exploded in the bottom of a cliff, with no trace of them inside.

Hearing the story of her parents' death surprisingly didn't make her that upset anymore. Instead, it relieved her a bit. Still, she felt like there was more to the story than Death was letting on. She didn't bother to press on though. Perhaps later.

"Thank you Lord Death. I think I am ready to enroll."

This changed Lord Death's mood back to cheerful, "Excellent! I just need to take a quick peek at your soul, and then you'll be ready to go."

"My soul?" Claire screamed, clutching her chest. Her mind automatically went to images of Lord Death swinging a giant scythe at her heart.

Death waved his hands in an attempt to calm her down, "Nothing scary, my lady. If you want, I can take you with me." Not waiting for an answer, Death approached her and put a finger on her forehead. Suddenly, Claire blacked out…

She woke up in a pitch black abyss. She didn't know which way was up or down. She was just floating. She twisted to her left to see Lord Death there with her. His cloak was the same color of the black around them, so he was just a mask and pair of white hands.

"OK, great! Your soul should be around here somewhere… there it is!" Lord Death began to float over towards a strange light in the distance. Claire followed. They finally reached the light source. It was a pale purple orb, about the size of a basketball.

"Is this… my soul?" Claire asked. Lord Death nodded. Claire reached out and touched it. It was warm to the touch. When she held it in her arms, she felt something inside her warm up. It was the same feeling when she hugged her rabbit, or when her family had hamburgers for dinner. Or even when she used to hug her mom and dad after she had a rough day at school, and they would make her hot chocolate to make her feel better.

"It seems that your soul is strong and healthy. Perfect for a young meister. And judging from the teal spot, you hold those your family very close to your heart."

Claire was confused, but then turned the orb around again and noticed the teal gem, identical to the one on her bracelet. This put a smile on Claire's face.

"It seems that you are more than ready to be a meister." Death snapped his fingers and they were back in his room.

"Welcome to the Death Weapon and Meister Academy, Meister Claire Underwood. I'm excited to see your progress here. Now go ahead run along. I'm sure she's waiting for you outside."

"Thank you Lord Death." Claire replied, running out of the room to meet up with Melina.

"She's going to be good. I can tell." Lord Death turned around to see Spirit, his in- house Death Scythe, coming in from the big mirror in the room.

"Oh, Death Scythe Spirit! I forgot you were even in the room! How are you?"

"I just got off the phone with Maka. She says she and Soul are in Canada investigating a powerful collection of powerful souls. She says it's nothing to get worried about for now, but she will keep us updated.

"Hmm, it seems like your little Maka has really grown up. She's becoming quite the Kishin hunter."

"Yeah. I'm not too stoked about her dating that Soul kid, but other than that…I'm the proudest father in the world." Spirit replied, wiping his tears away.

"Right! So what do you think of the new student. I'm sure you were listening in, yes?"  
"A little bit. I didn't expect the daughter of the two meisters of her parents' caliber to know nothing about her soul or the DWMA."

"I suppose that they wanted her daughter to grow up living a normal life. Being a demon hunter is quite the task, as I'm sure you know."

"Meh, it's not that bad. Oh yeah, late reaction: How come you didn't tell her the truth? About her parents' death and all? I'm pretty surprised she bought you not knowing. I mean, aren't you the Lord of Death? You know how everyone dies. Kind of an occupational thing."

"I would but I really don't know this time. Even if I did, I'm sure the news would surely discourage her."

"You think so? I can't read souls well, but I saw it on her face. She looked kind of happy. I think she wants to know more about her parents. I mean, it's not like you hear that your dead parents were high level demon hunters."

"Hmmm, I suppose you're right… Oh well! I'm sure with time she will find out more. Who knows? Maybe she really will be as good of a meister as her mom and dad."

"Yeah, but there's one thing she be."

"And that is?"

"As good looking as her mother was."

"…Reaper Chop!" The smoke rose, leaving Spirit on the floor clutching his head in pain with a giant rectangular chasm in the top of his head.

"Have some decency, man. That's her dead mother." Lord Death deadpanned.

"It doesn't matter! She was supposed to be mine, ok?! Curse that damn Kevin and his charm and sense of humor and…" Soon Spirit's voice began to crack, and he began to bawl as memories of his heartbroken past love life began to rush back to him.

"What a baby…" Death thought to himself.


	3. Resonance

Chapter 3:Resonance

Claire and Melina arrived in the Training Room. It was a round room, the walls lined with dummies and targets and punching bags. Claire scanned the room warily, but Melina looked so excited she was about to burst at the seams. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but the two noticed a little girl dressed in a witch getup playing with a few toys laid out for her. She didn't seem to notice them walk in, too enthralled in her own imagination.

"Hey Angela!" Melina called out, catching the little witch girl's attention.

"Ms. Melina!" Angela replied with the same energy. She got up and ran to give Melina a hug. She then noticed Claire, and scurried behind Melina for protection from the newcomer.

"It's ok Angie. This is a new student here, and a friend of mine. She's awesome." Melina said, smiling at Claire.

"Um hi, I'm Claire. And what's your name?" Claire said, kneeling down to the younger girl.

"A-a-Angela."

"Angela? What a beautiful name." Claire extended her hand to shake Angela's. Angela accepted with a smile.

Melina was so touched by the moment she almost forgot why there were there in the first place. "Oh Angie, could you tell Mifune that we're here? I told him to expect us, but I'm sure he forgot."

"Ok sure thing!" Angela skipped over to an empty spot on the wall and knocked three times. The wall spit open, revealing a secret room. Out of it appeared a young man wearing a long sleeved white shirts and jeans with sandals. He had long gray hair and a piece of straw in his mouth.

"Ugh, Angela. You know now is my sleeping hour." Mifune sighed, picking Angela up and placing her on his shoulders.

"Sorry Mifune, but Melina is here! She said she wanted to practice. Please can she practice, please?" Angela pleaded with her guardian. Mifune eyed Melina and then Claire, who he had never seen before.

"So Melina, finally found yourself a partner. I guess there's no time to waste." He then turned to Claire, "So you must be a new student."

"Yes sir. My name is Claire Underwood."

"Hmm. Do you have any sort of battle experience Claire?"

"Umm, well my uncle taught me a bit of self-defense and boxing. Does that count?"

"Well it's better than nothing. I guess we'll jump right in. Melina, your weapon form please."

"I've been waiting for this!" Melina exclaimed. She began to glow in a red light and transform in Claire's hands. Quickly the light faded, and she was now a flying guillotine. She was a donut shaped disk, with steel grey curved spikes around the circumference of her body. A thick red rope was attached to the top of her.

"Whoa Melina. When were you going to tell me you could turn into a giant death yo-yo?" Claire pondered, inspecting Melina's new form.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. At least I'm not something boring, like a sword or a gun or something." Melina retorted telepathically. It sounded fuzzy in Claire's head, like talking through a cell phone in a tunnel.

"Alright, enough with the useless banter." Mifune interrupted, placing a dummy in the middle of the room, "Claire, all you are going to do is use Melina to hit this dummy target."

"Just swing me and throw me. Easy as pie." Melina said, encouraging Claire. Claire nodded. Clutching the rope in her right hand, she lifted Melina up, panting with the stress of lifting the heavy weight.

"Hey, I know I gain a bit of weight this month, but c'mon," Melina sneered.

Swinging Melina in a circular motion next to her, she set her sights on the dummy. Next, without thinking about it, she tossed Melina ahead. However, she didn't account for the speed of Melina's flight, and as Melina launched ahead, Claire was pulled along for the ride. Melina collided and was stuck into the wall, while Claire landed headfirst next to her, dangerously close to Melina's sharp blades. She stood again, dazed. Angela was laughing her little head off maniacally.

"Again." Mifune grunted. Claire tried again, this time not getting pulled along, but missing by a mile. Again and again she tried, swinging Melina with all her might, but to no avail. Soon, her arms got tired, and she collapsed to the ground trying to catch her breath. Melina reverted back to her human form, slightly dizzy from all of that spinning.

"Claire." Claire raised her head up to find Mifune looking down at her. A small part of her wanted to push him. She hated when people looked down at her.

"You have to remember that Melina does not lose her humanity in her weapon form. Instead of trying to control her, you two must be in sync."

"Mifune's right, Claire. We're not on the same page. Our soul wavelengths need to be in sync for this to work."

"Soul… wavelengths?" Claire asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Here take my hands and close your eyes. Just concentrate on me." Melina said with a small smile. Claire complied, grasping her partner's hands and closing her eyes. She found herself back in that black abyss where she was with Lord Death. Claire waited for a while, floating in space for about a minute, and then suddenly she saw a red light in the distance. It approached her at considerable speed, stopping a few inches from her face. It was a bright red, and was wrapped in a hood. It was slightly larger than her own soul, and shine even more bright. Claire reached out a hand to touch it, and she saw sparks come from her body and go towards Melina. Sparks were sent back to her, and she felt a surge of electricity flow through her. Her eyes snapped back to reality and she fell back. Melina jumped to her side with all kinds of worry in her eyes.

"Claire! Are you ok? I'm sorry, this is my first time resonating too, so I have no idea what I'm doing, and-"

"Melina, relax. I'm fine seriously. It just was surprising was all. I've never felt…whatever just happened."

"It's almost never successful on the first try. Perhaps we should take a break for now. You guys can try again some other time." Mifune added. Claire and Melina bowed and left the training room. As they walked to lunch, Claire could tell that Melina was still distressed by the failure of the Soul Resonance. She began to think there was more on her mind than just what happened in the training room. She hadn't known Melina for long, but she didn't seem like the kind of girl to let things get her down like this.

They had entered the lunchroom a while later. It was a huge hall with long tables and yellow walls that matched the rest of the school. Claire grabbed a lunch of chili, tortilla chips, and two apples.

"MELINA!" She heard two people call. Melina's mood shot up like and rocket. She grabbed Claire and sprinted to where she heard the voices. They arrived at a table near the back of the cafeteria with five people sitting at it. The two kids that had called Melina's name were obviously twins. They both looked pretty young to be in high school. They were both short, their heads barely over the table, with ash blonde hair and fair skin. The boy's hair covered his eyes, and the girl's hair was long and covered most of her back. The boy wore all black, except for the white dot in the middle of his shirt, and the girl wore all white except for the black dot in her shirt. They both looked at Melina and Claire with mischievous eyes.

"Hiya Melina!" The boy said.

"Who's the girl?" The girl said.

"Guys, this is Claire, my new meister. Claire, this is Sol and Luna, the Twin Fans of Chaos." Melina stated, pointing to the twins accordingly, "They're awesome little boogers, but don't leave anything of importance near them. They're a little…jittery to say the least." As if to prove her point, Luna had gotten up to place a whoopee cushion down on the seat of a poor unsuspecting meister a few tables away. The fart sound it caused made Luna and her brother laugh uncontrollably, until the girl sitting in between them shot them both a look. They shut up and redirected their attention back to their food. The girl gave a small smile to Claire.

"My apologies about their behavior. It's quite unbalanced, so I have to put them in check every now and then. My name is Eve." The girl had a soft and even tone, as if every word was precisely chosen. She wore a blue dress and brown boots. Her dark hair was in a bun, and she had calming gray eyes.

"Let them have some fun, Eve! Not everything needs to be all elegant and such." The other boy at the table said. He was lanky and had dark skin, about a shade or two darker than Claire, with hair in a small afro with a pick sticking out. He had a Bob Marely tank top on with camouflage cargo shorts and red sneakers.

"How are you, pretty lady? The name's Tyler. But you can call me—Ow!" Tyler was interrupted by a book tossed across the table. Eve retrieved it once more and kept reading.

"Archer! I was going to say archer, dammit!" Tyler shouted.

"I'm sure you were, Black Hammer," Eve replied, not even looking up from her book.

"Oh c'mon, that was one time! Are you still not over that?"

"Well considering that one time was in front of my parents, no Tyler. No I am not. "

As the two kept arguing, Claire and Melina sat down across each other and began to eat. Claire sat down next to someone sitting in between her and Tyler. He was tall, with messy brown hair and light eyes. He had on a plain red shirt and black jeans. He would have pretty cute by Claire's standards if he didn't stare at her like she was an alien. Melina noticed the tension and spoke up. "That's Lance. Don't worry he doesn't talk to anyone except for Tyler, which is good since Ty talks enough for the both of them." The silence between the two still lingered.

"So Claire," Eve started, noticing the awkwardness of the situation as well, "what brings you to DWMA?"

"Well, it was mainly my parents. They were both meisters here, so I guess they figured it was the best choice for me as well. I don't think I would have heard of this school any other way to be honest."

"Ah, trust fund kid, I see? This place should be a breeze for you then." Tyler said confidently.

"Um… I don't think so… you see my parents are dead."

Another silence hit the table.

"It's not a big deal guys, seriously." Claire said waving her hands frantically in front of her, "Actually, that's one of the reasons I came here. I wanted to learn more about my parents. So far, it's weird that they haven't talked about this place more. It's…interesting."

"Always has been, always will. Lance, Melina, and I met in the N.O.T program, which is basically the novice program for students who want to be actual reapers. Eve came the next year, and then Sol and Luna were taken in by the school a few months later, and Eve volunteered to be their meister a while after. Did I get that right?" Tyler asked the rest of the group, getting nods back.

"I'm surprised Lord Death allowed you to skip straight into the E.A.T program. Your parents must have been quite the special people."

"Weeellll, that and a little word from your truly always helps too." Melina said, patting herself on the back.

"Doesn't he not even know your name?" Sol asked bluntly.

"Ah, that's just an inside joke between us. Besides, it doesn't matter how she got in. She's here now, and she's my meister! And we're going to collect those 99 evil souls and I'll be a Death Scythe!" Melina was now standing on the table like a dignified war hero.

"Speaking of which, have you two resonated yet?" Eve asked. Slowly, Melina deflated back into her seat. She brought her head down on the table next to her food. A dark storm cloud appeared over her head.

"Sadly, no not yet. Turns out it's a little bit harder than it first appeared." Claire said, twirling her hair.

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You should have seen how long it took me to resonate with these two," Even replied, hugging the twins. Sol gagged.

"Eve's right. If you keep at it, the payoff is well worth the trouble. The bond between the weapon and meister is really something special." Luna added on.

"My bond is stronger with Eve than yours is." Sol proclaimed.

"Is not!

"Is so!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yea-huh!"

The lunch bell rang, and students rushed out to their respective classes. Eve dragged Sol and Luna behind her, the twins still arguing, and Tyler and Lance were close behind. Tyler waved back to Claire and Melina.

"It was nice meting you, Claire! Yo Melina, we still on for soccer this Saturday?"

"You betcha! See you then!" Melina yelled back, waving frantically. Melina and her meister walked out last, sauntering down the halls towards their next class.

"You've got an interesting group of friends." Claire said, breaking the silence.

"Oh them? Ah, they're ok. They can be pains in the asses, but I love them anyway. They're like family to me."

"Oh, that reminds me. I don't even know that much about you. Where do you come from? What's your family like?"

Melina sighed, "Nothing much to know. I was born in Detroit. Dad tried to make a living as a street performer, failed miserably. Became an alcoholic. Mom got me out of there as soon as possible. She shipped me off to an all-girls Catholic school in Rhode Island. Found out I was a weapon a week into classes. Used some saved up money to get to Nevada and enroll here. Simple as that."

The explanation left Claire with more questions than answers, but she decided to address the elephant in her room: "How did you find out you were a weapon?"

Melina stopped dead in her tracks. Her books fell towards the ground with a loud thud.

"Melina? Melina, snap out of it!" Claire exclaimed, shaking her friend. Melina shook her head violently, snapping out her trance. She looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Sorry, I had remembered something…unpleasant. We should move it. We're late for class." Melina whispered quickly, picking her stuff off of the ground and speedwalking down the hall, leaving a very concerned and confused Claire.

 _I promise action and explosions in the next chapter! Sorry if the pace is too slow for you guys…_


End file.
